War films are about as old of a Hollywood genre as dirt itself, and with this, we all have seen a plethora of them. Every generation has had their respective films about the war they're being confronted with: WWII films, Korean War films, Vietnam War films and the Iraqi War films. Since this last film war listed has lasted as long as it has, it's no wonder we've seen so many produced with an Iraqi theme. Certainly "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" is not only one to add to that list, but also with amazing quality as well.
This film is told from the point of view of 19-year-old private Billy Lynn (newcomer Joe Alwyn) who, along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad including Sergeants, Dime (Garrett Hedlund) and Shroom (Vin Diesel), Mango (Arturo Castro), Foo (Mason Lee), Lodis (Brian 'Astro' Bradley), Crack (Beau Knapp) and others, becomes a hero after a harrowing Iraq battle and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour. Through flashbacks, culminating at the spectacular halftime show of the Thanksgiving Day football game, the film reveals what really happened to the squad--contrasting the realities of war with America's preconceptions of what they think the war is all about and what these guys really went through while over there. This basically gives a blow by blow account of what leads up to this halftime walk including numerous flashbacks so as to get the many emotions these guys are really going through as they make that halftime walk.
Others to round out the cast are Kristin Stewart as Kathryn, Billy's sister, Chris Tucker as Albert, a promoter, Ismael Cruz Cordova as Holliday, Steve Martin as Norm, Makenzie Leigh as Faison, a new girlfriend of Billy's, Barney Harris as Sykes, Ben Platt as Josh, Bruce McKinnon as Billy's Father and Deirdre Lovejoy as Billy's Mother.
This was exquisitely directed by two timer Academy Award winner Ang Lee ("Pushing Hands" '92, "The Wedding Banquet" '93, "Eat Drink Man Woman" '94, "Sense and Sensibility" '95, "The Ice Storm" '97, "Ride with the Devil" '99, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" 2000, "Hulk" '03, "Brokeback Mountain" '05, "Lust, Caution" '07, "Taking Woodstock" '09, "Life of Pi" '12) plus shorts. One thing to be said for Lee is that he cannot be pigeon-holed. His work is extremely eclectic in that he consistently works outside the box. In this film, Lee used new technology, shooting at an ultra-high frame rate for the first time in film history, to create an immersive digital experience helping him dramatize war in a way never seen before. Of course, to help him create this look, he used cinematographer, John Toll asc. ("Braveheart" '95, "The Last Samurai" '03, "Cloud Atlas" '12) plus many others. This was written by Jean-Christophe Castelli based on the novel by Ben Fountain. Although Castelli's script encapsulated the feel of the vision novelist, Fountain and director, Lee had, there were some places of choppiness as the script was unfolding going from present time and its flashback scenes. It certainly wasn't enough to take the impact from what one was to expect of the importance these filmmakers were obviously attempting to convey, but it definitely needed just a bit more polish. Castelli has worked with Lee on other film projects--just not as writer, so he must have felt Castelli was ready. This being the first film he has written, it would be interesting to see what he could do next.
For depth and how war not only impacts soldiers, but also how it effects us, this has to be one of the most gripping and emotional films of its genre that has come along in a while. Ang, as usual, is a consummate artist and he has proven this more than once. Whether this is entertaining or not, the message should ring loud in a way most haven't seen in films of the like.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 113mins.
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